DE 40 21 676 C1 discloses a device for changing a pile in a sheet delivery device. A first slide, moving laterally into the pile region, lifts a corner of a pile with blow-air support and enters completely into the pile region until a second, flat slide enters into the pile region perpendicularly to the direction of motion of the first slide and in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the sheets. Since the pile must be able to be laid open for transport, the second slide, which is held by an angled carrying arm, is adapted to be swung away about a column. The result of this arrangement is that the sheet delivery is longer in length and takes up space both when the second slide is swung away and also when it is in engagement.
In a brochure from Oxy-Dry, which is accessible to the relevant experts, there is an illustration of, among other things, a flat sheet delivery in which one of the design details is a rake with a plurality of prongs, the rake being movable into the pile region from the front side of the pile. It is left to the printer to determine the correct time for the removal of the rake when there is a change of pile. It is not possible with this design to obtain a defined pile separation and, moreover, automation of the process is very difficult.